


Blood in the Sand

by FunkMcLovin



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M, Murder Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:34:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25716640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FunkMcLovin/pseuds/FunkMcLovin
Summary: On a trip to the Village Hidden In The Sand, Naruto stumbles across an old friend. While there, he gets wrapped up in a murder mystery.
Relationships: Gaara/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	Blood in the Sand

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Plazynoodles](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Plazynoodles).



> This is a drabble, and while I left it on a cliffhanger, I don't think I'll continue it unless enough people comment they'd like to see more!

Naruto liked the Sand village. It was so much like Konoha, but... Sandy. Instead of dirt paths, sand paths, instead of stone houses, ones made of sand. The vendors still hocked their wares in the streets, the bustle still could be heard, people haggling and laughing, children running and shouting. So similar, yet so different. Unfortunately for Naruto, he wasn't there to drink in the scenery. Instead, he was drinking in a much less appealing sight: The sight of a dead body.

"Who was this geezer, anyway?" Naruto asked, turning away from the corpse to the sand jonin standing behind him. The jonin bristled, crossing his arms.

"This 'geezer,' as you so rudely put it," said the jonin, a tall gentleman wearing a bandanna and goggles. "Is the honorable Judge Hangan. We found him like this this morning."

Naruto crouched down, cocking his head to the side. The corpse was on its stomach, head face-down in the sand. Near his abdomen was a bloodstain, much of the blood mixed and soaked into the fine particles around the wound. Naruto was glad he hadn't eaten lunch yet, and that the man was face-down.

"Hangan was our most beloved judge in this village. He served in our courts since he was just sixteen years old, sweeping them between trials, working his way up nearly his entire life. He served for forty years! And now he is-" The jonin sniffled. Naruto made a pained face. He empathized with the jonin, he really did, but Naruto still didn't understand why he was being roped into this.

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto said, standing up straight, situating his hands behind his head. "And you want me to investigate the killing because you think it was one of your shinobi, right?"

"Correct," said the jonin, lifting his goggles to wipe away a tear. "And since you just came into town, you are the only ninja who is not a subject."

That made sense. The Judge had been killed in the middle of the street, out in public. It could have been anyone. It was a good idea to bring in a non-biased party to investigate. There was just one problem- Naruto was a garbage sleuth! Nonetheless, he put a hand on the jonin's shoulder, trying to make his voice sound less doubtful than he felt.

"I'll do my best!" he said. This seemed to satisfy the jonin, who nodded.

"You'll also be accompanied by another sand ninja, one who has been out of town for the last week," said the jonin, regaining his composure.

"Oh, thank god," Naruto breathed. The jonin scowled. "Wonder who it could be!"

"That would be me," said a voice from behind the duo. From the dusty mist, stepped a dark, imposing figure. The first detail that became visible was a patch of crimson hair, followed by a pair of dark eyes, encircled by darker, tired lines. Naruto's eyes widened with recognition. A smile bloomed on his face.

"Gaara!" Naruto cried, happy to see his old pal. Gaara, too, was pleased, but he didn't show emotion quite so openly as Naruto did. Naruto flung his arms jovialy around Gaara, locking him in a headlock. Gaara's eyes widened, taken aback by Naruto's sudden display. "It's great to see you, old buddy! How's Kankuro and his creepy puppet?"

"Uh," said Gaara. Frankly, he was surprised. He'd tried to enter the conversation with a certain level of appropriate drama and weight, and now he was being undermined by Naruto's glee at seeing him! Worse still, he couldn't even be cross, since he was happy to see Naruto, as well. Still- He didn't appreciate the headlock, so he extricated himself with a shove. As usual, Naruto just grinned that stupid grin of his. Gaara looked away, shifting in place. "Naruto... Try to take this seriously. A man has just died," Gaara said carefully. His words did nothing to dissuade Naruto from his cheerfulness.

"Looks like you and me are gonna be working together, huh? This is great! I can't wait to get started!" Naruto cried, clapping Gaara on the back.

"Yes, well," the jonin said impatiently, "You'd better start now. There's a sandstorm blowing in and I'd like to move the body before it hapens."

Naruto seemed to be completely unmoved by the weight of the situation. He was all smiles, seeing his friend Gaara had obliterated any somberness he'd tried to affect in the last few minutes.

"We'd better get him turned over. The first step will be to find out what killed him," said Gaara, trying to get things back on track. Naruto nodded, hastily trying once again to seem serious. Still, Naruto could hear in Gaara's husky, grainy voice that he, too, was pleased at their reunion, despite the present circumstances.

Gaara, the jonin, and Naruto worked together to flip over the corpse. Naruto flinched at the sight, as did the jonin.

"Jeez, get a load of that! They turned old man Hangan into a pincushion!" Naruto cried, covering his nose from the smell of rotting flesh. The jonin looked like he was about to faint, too, but he smacked Naruto in the back of the head.

"Sh-show some more respect!!" He insisted. Below them, Gaara seemed unperturbed by the sight of a corpse. He rubbed his chin, looking it over.

Just like Naruto had so elegantly stated, the body's front was covered in kunai knives, all buried deeply in the former Judge's abdomen. Gaara plucked one out.

"These are the ones distributed to Sand Village ninja," he said, turning it over in his hand. He counted, slowly. "It looks like there are 23 knives here. It's likely that there is more than one suspect, due to the way the judge's body fell." Gaara stood up, pointing at the ground. "The judge was likely standing up, then he was attacked, and immediately fell to the ground, face first..." He marked in the sand where the judge had probably been standing. "...which means that all these kunai were thrown at once. They all struck him near-simultaneously, then he fell. And since even I couldn't throw 23 kunai at once... That means that there were probably several culprits."

"Wow, Gaara!" Naruto said, completely destroying the ambiance once again with his cheerful demeanor. "You're pretty good at this detective stuff!" Gaara blushed, unable to stop himself from cracking a smile.

"W-well," Gaara said, blushing. He cleared his throat. "It's just clear from the evidence."

"Get a load of this!" Naruto said, crouching down, pulling the Judge's shirt down. "What's this creepy tattoo?" Under the Judge's shirt, on his chest, was a picture of what appeared to be a skull.

"That's no tattoo," the jonin said, wiping some of the ink with his finger. It smudged. "It was drawn on. I don't think Judge Hangan had any tattoos at all."

The wind around them suddenly flared up. Sand shifted around them, and in the distance, a cloud of it was being kicked up. The jonin stood.

"It's no use. We have to move the body, now. You two can come to the morgue if you need to inspect it further." He said, putting his arms under Judge Hangan's shoulders, lifting him. "I'll leave the rest to you."

Gaara and Naruto looked at one another, nodding. Hastily, they dashed off into a nearby inn to avoid the coming sandstorm. Once inside, the wind whipped outdoors. A few other people had seeked refuge in the inn's lobby, too, milling around, waiting for the storm to pass. Gaara took Naruto's arm suddenly, gazing up at him with those dark-circled eyes. He looked earnest, like a lost puppy who had finally found its owner. Naruto gazed back into those eyes, a little surprised at how serious Gaara looked.

"Naruto," he said, slowly, turning the name over in his mouth carefully, like an incantation. "I missed you too."


End file.
